


Transformers: To Destroy Fic-'Verse World-Building Notes and Commentary

by TrinesRUs



Series: Transformers: To Destroy [7]
Category: Transformers - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Meta, Nonfiction, cross-posted from tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-12-09
Updated: 2018-12-09
Packaged: 2019-09-14 23:57:21
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 8,272
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16922826
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TrinesRUs/pseuds/TrinesRUs
Summary: A series of world-building notes and rambles related to my fanfiction seriesTransformers: To Destroythat were originally posted to Tumblr. Notes span from how politics work at the beginning of the series to silly thoughts the author has/had during the writing and editing process.Posted to AO3 for easier access to anyone interested in the fic series and as a general back-up.





	1. About For All That Has Happened: a Brief Introduction to the Universe

**Author's Note:**

> I've kept these as-written from their original Tumblr posts with only minor edits for spelling and grammar. Some of the points and ideas may have been altered after their original posting, so I may make note of any changes at the beginning or ending of specific rambles.
> 
> Most notably, this first meta was written back when _For All That Has Happened_ was the only entry in the series and the _Transformers: To Destroy_ title had not yet been decided on.

**Originally posted December 16, 2014 at 11 PM**

_For All That Has Happened_  is one of several multi-chapter fics I rotate between writing. I've been vague about what Transformers 'verse it's set in because it's not in any specific one: it's set in its own 'verse with its own rules.

There may be some elements of different continuities pulled together. Most notably, this fic runs on the Prime-and-IDW idea of an unjust caste system that the Decepticons rise violently against. Character personalities and relationships may carry over from one series or another.

But the idea is also to play around with things. The specifics of class distinctions and how the war starts might be a bit more unique. Characters who have never met in canon for one reason or another, including not being from the same continuity, might be best friends or rivals here.

One of the more important differences is where new Cybertronians come from. In the FATHH 'verse, there are three divisions of life: budded, sparked, and commissioned.

"Budded" mechs are basically as they are in canon: the result of a new life growing out of a single parent Cybertronian. The problem is that this requires the splitting of the spark with no time for one to build enough excess energy, resulting in parent and offspring both having "less of a spark" and reduced sentience, though this has only presented itself within the last couple of millenia. Budding is rare in the present time because of the loss of sentience. As such, "budded" is considered a highly-offensive insult, and one that is usually leveled at Enforcers.

By stark contrast, being "sparked"--a life created from two mechs spark-merging--is generally a mark of high social class, as only nobility and governing bodies (whether royalty, the senate, the Prime, or whatever) are allowed to spark new life freely. This is why it's kind of a big deal that Moonracer is the offspring of a noble and a lower-caste mech, especially servant-class.

The vast majority of Cybertronians fall under the "commissioned" category, though this comes with its own distinctions: "constructed" or "protoformed." Commissioned mechs are created by order, often in large batches. Sparks are released from the Well from Vector Sigma release stations and either joined with a pre-constructed body or a protoform.

The distinction is important because, for the most part, warbuilds and laborers are constructed while administrators, artists, instructors, etc. are typically protoformed. There is an exception in Vos, where there is an (uncomfortable to some of the planet's population) overlap between "warbuilds" and "nobility/royalty." Not all nobles and royals there are warbuilds and vice-versa, but there are still some who are both. As such, Seekers are the only frame-type officially recognized as having the potential to (legally) be sparked, protoformed,  _and_  constructed (and probably budded, too, but that isn't discussed in polite company).

Sparked, protoformed, and constructed are the descending order of "grow-up time." Sparked mechs start off with a smaller-than-average protoform and slowly grow to normal size for their frame-type. They require specific mineral additives in their energon, programming upgrades, and armor augmentation, which is one of the reasons typically only the upper classes are supposed to have them. Protoformed mechs grow a bit faster because they need only the programming upgrades and armor augmentation, and less frequently. Constructed mechs have the fastest time because they just need to be functional enough to get to work ASAP.

Another thing to keep in mind is that "mech" and "mechs" are used as gender-neutral terms. I'm sure that can be gathered easily enough, but it's worth saying. Gender doesn't exist in their society, but canon characters' typical pronouns are used for ease, while OCs are given pronouns arbitrarily.

I'll probably put a super-abbreviated version of this in the note on the next chapter (which I am slowly making progress on) and other things might be worked into the fic itself, but I think a lot of this is worth laying out here.

 


	2. Notes and babbling about Transformers: To Destroy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Between this and the first meta, there were many mini comments on the series. These smaller comments may be collected into a single chapter later. It was during this stretch that _Impasse_ and _Tenets of the Dusk's Lucidity_ were added, necessitating a title for the whole series.
> 
> At this time, _Cash Rules Everything Around Me_ and _All Our Sins Remembered_ existed in concept, but had yet to be written.
> 
> There was a read-more cut before the list on the original post. A comment about there being a read-more cut has been removed. The post also existed in a bulleted format, rather than in paragraphs as it does now.

**Originally posted October 2, 2015 at 12 AM**

I tend to categorize individual fics within the series by general time periods. These are Pre-War-to-War, Early War, Mid Period, Earth Years. Depending on how things go, I may add “Historical” and “Return.”

Pre-War-to-War encompasses any fic that starts before the Great Cybertronian War or the resulting exodus and carries on to the start of the war and after, regardless of  _how long_  after the war starts the fic continues. This category is (at time of posting) the largest, including  _For All That Has Happened_ ,  _Impasse_ ,  _Tenets of the Dusk’s Lucidity_ , a planned Swindle-centered fic, a planned Blitzwing-centered fic, and a planned fic about Omega Supreme and the Constructicons.

Early War encompasses any fic set after the start of the war but before Optimus’ squad leaves Cybertron. The two fics currently planned for this are one about the Stunticons and one about Elita’s squadron.

Mid Period is anything after Optimus leaves Cybertron but before the war spreads to Earth. The two fics planned currently are a Wrecker-centered one and Strika having to survive working with Thunderblast.

Earth Years is self-explanatory. Aside from the Strika & Thunderblast fic mentioned above, these will probably be some of the lightest fics in the series, though the only one with a concept right now is something dealing with Powerglide.

Historical, should I add any fics for it, would cover anything before the Autobot vs Decepticon war, whether it’s a previous war or a time of (relative) peace. Return would cover anything after the Earth Years.

Dead End is the first Cybertronian to use “You are being deceived” as a political statement in this ‘verse, though his meaning is obscured behind subtext. The Council will later co-opt it to denounce the Decepticon movement, and the Decepticons will turn it back on them, though not exactly in the manner Dead End intended with the statement.  
Perceptor’s thoughts and actions are often in line with Dead End’s philosophy, despite Percy’s stated disapproval of Dead End’s ideas. They will diverge more as the series progresses, but in the beginning, it looks like Percy’s main problem with Dead End’s writing is the cynicism.

In this universe, there are no Knights of Cybertron or 13 original Primes. Megatronus and Solus remain from the concept of these Primes, but Megatronus was the first High Protector in this continuity instead of being a Prime. It’s possible that there were other prominent roles besides Prime and High Protector, but they’ve been lost to history.

The first Cybertronian war began with the separation of Megatronus and Solus, though accounts vary on the reason for separation and how willingly Solus was removed from Megatronus. Though the connection was accidental on my part, Moonracer and Skywarp actually parallel Solus and Megatronus in many respects.

While many of the fics will have overlapping character lists and events, Perceptor’s and Moonracer’s stories intertwine enough that  _Impasse_  and  _For All That Has Happened_  are essentially two halves of a whole.


	3. Optic Colors

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Me on Tumblr, one fine December evening:** I’m getting very little fic writing done, but I still have _Transformers: To Destroy_ fic ‘verse rambles in my brain. Would you guys be interested in a ramble about optic colors in this ‘verse or one about sparklings and lineage?
> 
> “Both” and “neither” are valid options, but if both, do you have a preference for which first?
> 
>  **Rael:** Optic colooors. Seems like it might be simpler one to start with? (Unless it’s not, but that would still be fine. :P)
> 
> And thusly...

**Originally posted December 29, 2015 at 8 PM**

Okay, so, one thing that has already been established in ‘verse is the correlation between optic color and race.

Blue: Cybertron  
Red: Combatron  
Purple: Destron

* **Side note for anyone who has stumbled upon this or hasn’t read far enough into the relevant fic(s):**  the planet and its inhabitants were renamed to Cybertron and Cybertronians after a war that made Cybertrons the dominant political force.*

This hasn’t exactly come up in ‘verse, but Insecticons have magenta optics.

In addition to these racially-determined optic colors, optics can also be yellow, which has significance for Cybertronian mythology. Traditionally, mechs with yellow optics have been considered more in-tune with the spiritual world. In some eras, they have been revered as seers and prophets.

In more recent times, it was discovered that yellow optics are actually often a sign of severe physiological or psychological disorders. Not always, mind you. Sometimes, yellow optics have just been caused by a lack of a certain filter or film in the optics.

Of course, with Cybertron being the Crap Sack World it is, the solution has often been to...”redistribute” mechs with yellow optics, sometimes without waiting to find out the reason for the coloration.

Surgery can be performed to place blue film inside the lenses. Technically, red or purple film could be placed instead, but purple is rare and red tends not to happen because of Combatrons making up the lowest rungs of society. Nobles are usually the only mechs who can afford the surgery anyway, unless one finds a generous medic.

And, yes, there’s something to be said about nobles being the primary mechs to hide yellow optics when yellow optics used to be a sign of high status.


	4. Sparklings and Lineage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Me on Tumblr:** So, I did the ramble about optic colors in the _Transformers: To Destroy_ fic ‘verse. I still have a ramble about sparklings and lineage (with a connected ramble about outliers and Mirage’s lineage specifically). Anyone interested?
> 
>  **Rael:** Do the thiiiiiing~
> 
>  **Leggy:** ooooooh! Me!

**Originally posted December 30, 2015 at 9 PM**

When nobles bond or go through conjunx ritus, which House they take on and continue the line of is determined by who owns more property and/or whose House name holds the most weight/history. In cases where both lines are equal in wealth and history, it’s determined by factors like whether their families have sparked or commissioned other younglings which could continue their line.

Traditionally, while commissioned younglings follow these rules more closely, sparklings continue the line of their Carrier. Any medic worth their salt (er, copper filings?) can determine sirehood without even a special examination, so this is mostly a carry-over from the days before medicine had advanced very far. All mechs can carry or sire, unless a medical condition strictly prevents them from doing so. As such, carrying and siring are often subject to political and social dances as much as every other aspect of life in the nobility.

Essentially, Moonracer was going to belong to the House of Illusia no matter what, because--besides being her Carrier--Mirage was slightly better off than Finesse, and his line has a bigger reputation. Not that Finesse’s line isn’t great or anything, but Mirage’s is definitely better known.

Among things the House of Illusia is known for is that it has the single longest line of sparklings known in Cybertronian history. Moonracer was sparked, Mirage was sparked before her, his Carrier was sparked before him, and their Carrier was sparked before them, and so on. Less known--though some could probably guess--is that it accounts for the longest line of outliers, too.

The sparkling of an outlier is not guaranteed to be an outlier, but it’s a distinct possibility. While sparks from Vector Sigma have a fairly random set of traits, sparklings draw from the coding of their creators. Sparklings with more than one outlier for creators are more likely to be outliers themselves.

*Side note that bonds can be formed between more than two mechs and that, while sparklings only ever have one Carrier, they may have multiple Sires. Pairs are very common in the nobility because the socio-political dancing to make poly relations happen often gets too complicated to work out, but exceptions have arisen.*

Not all outliers have to be sparked, of course, because sparks released from Vector Sigma still have the potential to produce any manner of oddities. However, it’s much safer for outliers to be sparked or protoformed because the spark has much more room to adjust the frame to make it compatible with its power. Constructed outliers can work out, but there’s always a danger of incompatibility because the frame is made whole and complete before a spark is fit to it. The spark can sometimes have time to morph a pre-made frame before the first use of an ability, but not always.

Skywarp is actually lucky to have been protoformed, because if he had been constructed, his frame would have been torn apart the first time he tried to teleport.


	5. The Great Re-Writing Saga

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a series of posts I wrote during the period when I rewrote the first several chapters of _For All That Has Happened_ and _Impasse_ (for the first time; who knows if I'll RE-re-write them in the future) to strengthen the narrative and better reflect my writing standards of the time.
> 
> Bundled together because they're so tightly intertwined.
> 
>  _All Our Sins Remembered_ had started being written at this time, though it went back on the shelf at some point.

**Originally posted January 18, 2016 at 3 PM**

So...I’m rewriting the first three (possibly four) chapters of  _For All That Has Happened_  and making major edits to other chapters and probably at least a few of  _Impasse_. These edits shouldn’t effect plot in any way or change what has happened (ha) so far in either story, but they should improve quality and clarity.

Among other things, I’m trying to make Finesse’s motivations clearer sooner. None of the OCs were really supposed to have big roles, but Finesse, Scour, and Grandeur kind of took on a life of their own. While the goal is still to make sure they don’t overshadow the canon characters, I do want to make them function better within the narrative.

I’m also trying to more firmly establish rank and title among the nobility. I think I settled on Mirage being a marquis, Grandeur being a marchioness, and Finesse being an earl (because I will continue using masculine titles for her despite using feminine pronouns). High Blue is probably going to be a duke, and I think Lancer qualifies as a baronet/ess...although I’m not sure it equals the exact position she would hold in Cybertronian society, it’s as close as I think we’re going to get.

This still leaves Cool Down and Dash Over. On one hand, they should probably be high enough in rank that Mirage would see the match between their creations as beneficial. On the other hand, there are reasons beyond rank to accept the match? It’s a minor detail overall but something I need to figure out sooner or later (preferably sooner).

Just...I really want this fic ‘verse to be as strong as possible since it’s such a massive, long-term project. To do that, I want to fix up some of the weaker parts before I start pushing forward again. I hope to have the new versions of the completely rewritten chapters finished and posted by the end of the week, and the edited chapters finished by the end of the month.

**Originally posted January 18, 2016 at 3 PM**

Also, another thing I decided: a name like Prowl is still 100% a generic one (pre THE Prowl making it more notable) in this ‘verse, but names among the nobility are often 1) really unique and 2) distinct to a certain lineage/House. As long as someone knows the various Houses, they can probably just match a mech to their family by their given designation.

As such, announcing a mech’s family is usually only done in super formal situations like balls and such. The exception, of course, is when some asshole is talking shit, and it’s time for an, “Excuse me? Who the fuck do you think I am?” smack down.

**Originally posted January 18, 2016 at 9 PM**

“Okay, I think I have titles for the nobility down. I could take my time making up marches and counties for all these characters, but I doubt it will come up for a while. Hm, wait, how does one refer to the children of nobility?”

*reads up on courtesy titles*

“Fuck. Well, maybe I still don’t have to come up with anything. It’s not like–”

*remembers Moonracer and Aubade are formally introduced to each other in chapter 4 of FATHH*

“FUCK”

**Reblogged from self January 20, 2016 at 12 AM**

Okay, so I may have potentially worked this out. There was a thing about Mirage hunting turbofoxes in the Langton’s loopbrush, which is an artificial life pun. TFWiki couldn’t decide if Langton was meant to be a location or a type of Cybertronian plantlife, but I’ve decided that, either way, you can find Langton’s loopbrush in the county of Vanumin (which is my own joke on “von Neumann”).

Right. So. Nobles often have lesser titles besides their “main” ones, like The Marquis of Madeupmarch may also be The Earl of Madeupcounty. Heirs apparent will often be granted a courtesy title that is a lesser title without the “The”. In our example, the heir apparent of The Marquis of Madeupmarch would be Earl of Madeupcounty.

This is subject to change, but what I have right now is that Mirage is the Marquis of Vertex and the Earl of Vanumin, making Moonracer Countess of Vanumin. Prior to marrying Mirage, Finesse would be the Earl of Morr (which is another AI joke).

I still don’t have anything for Aubade and his family, but it will probably be full of music jokes when I do.

**Originally posted January 22, 2016 at 9 PM**

One of the challenges of writing (and rewriting)  _For All That Has Happened_  is getting across the idea that Moonracer is adventurous and lively before meeting Skywarp without giving her Rebellious Princess Syndrome.

Because that’s…not really the point? Yeah, the other noble characters are supposed to be unsympathetic to varying degrees, but they aren’t all meant to be Unforgivably Evil either. Most of them are meant to be in uncomfortable grey areas, especially Mirage (at first) and Finesse. Moonracer may be intended as the most sympathetic of the bunch, but she’s also meant to be 1) misguided and 2) completely clueless to the treatment of the lower castes until Skywarp shows her.

So part of the trick is to make her rebellious enough to be open to friendship with Skywarp, but not so rebellious that she becomes Annoying Trope #34927.

**Originally posted January 23, 2016 at 2 PM**

More rambles about  _Transformers: To Destroy_  because I have a lot of thoughts (and because I’ve been doing a lot of work between rewriting the first two chapters and starting on rewriting the third).

So, sometimes people tell me  _For All That Has Happened_  is so light-hearted! Which is…both true and weird to read at the same time. FATHH is in this weird place where it is the lightest story in the ‘verse so far (including one I started working on but haven’t posted yet), but it’s still one piece in a continuity about robots living in a Crap Sack World and being thrown into violent revolution.

Like…yes, nothing really horrible happens to the nobility (yet), and this is a story where Moonracer and Skywarp–bubbly Moonracer and trickster Skywarp–get to be happy, ridiculous friends. It’s a story when a significant part of the plot is a great love story. And it takes a lot longer for bad violence things to happen even off-screen than some of the other stories (with  _Impasse_  having off-screen violence as early as the first chapter and the unposted Constructicon fic having on-screen violence within the first few paragraphs).

But part of the darkness of FATHH is in that a lot of this stuff doesn’t reach them because the characters are nobility or work for them? Like, there are still threats hanging over the servants, but only if they’re working for a cruel noble or if they do something against the social code? There’s also the way the nobles leave the dominant attitudes completely unquestioned. Mirage’s protection of Moonracer isn’t entirely for her sake, and there’s a low-key ableism in his fears about her safety, too.

It’s not exactly that it’s not a dark story. It’s still pretty dark, even before we get into the war years. But it’s kind of a subtle, creeping darkness, and that’s one thing I’m trying to improve with the edits.

**Originally posted January 23, 2016 at 10 PM**

I’m probably not going to have a ramble related to rewriting chapter four of FATHH. Not because there’s nothing to talk about with this chapter, but because there’s  _too much_  to talk about with this chapter. The significance of Moonracer meeting Skywarp and Aubade in the same chapter. Finesse being aro-ace, Moonracer being either aro-ace or demiro-ace, and the strain of mating expectations in the upper castes. The forces that draw Moonracer and Skywarp together. Ripple effect. Holy shit.

**Originally posted January 24, 2016 at 12 AM**

Finesse is the embodiment of, “Talk less; smile more.”

**Reblogged from self January 24, 2016 at 12 AM**

I could probably make a whole list of characters as Hamilton lyrics. Hound is, “You will never find anyone as trusting or as kind.” Dead End is, “Why do you write like you’re running out of time?” Moonracer is, “Like my father, but bolder.”

**Originally posted January 30, 2016 at 3 PM**

I imagine most of the editing on  _Impasse_  will be cleaning up and making changes to reflect things that were taken out/changed in  _FATHH_ , but before I start, a little reflection on the editing/rewriting of  _FATHH_ …

 **Biggest change with the least rewriting:**  removing references to ground-bridges. This is something that’s obviously going to affect  _Impasse_ , too, and there will be more rewriting to get rid of references there, but this is still a huge difference with only a few paragraphs changed. Ground-bridges were a sign of status before whereas now they…just…don’t…exist yet.

 **Smallest change with the most rewriting:**  Moonracer’s introduction to Aubade. Several new paragraphs; basically the same events.

 **Favorite little edit:**  It’s a tie between the reference to the handmaiden/feudal lord meme in the first chapter and the turbofox hunting parallel (“Turbofox hunting was where Mirage felt most in his element” in chapter 2 and “Turbofox hunting was where [Moonracer] felt most in her element” in chapter 4)


	6. On Conjunx Ritus

**Originally posted February 14, 2016 at 11 PM**

So, in this ‘verse, it’s really common for the grandness of the Act of Devotion to be affected by caste–but higher caste mechs are actually more likely to go for  _milder_  acts like kissing the legs/pedes (or sometimes a weapon for the Elite Guard). Partially, this is because of how much more common taking a conjunx is in the nobility/royalty than in other castes, but this is also because, well, you can’t ask important mechs to risk their sparks! *snooty sniff* Dash Over’s Act of Devotion was actually considered pretty shocking: he brought Cool Down an alloygator pelt.

Conversely, you also don’t get a lot of spark-risking Acts of Devotion in the lower castes because…well, they risk their sparks every day. What’s special about almost dying for someone? Conjuges are rarer the further down the system you go, mainly because of societal disapproval and shorter life expectancy. It’s an increasing practice among Decepticon-aligned lower caste mechs to make their Acts of Devotion something that makes their obedience programming  _scream_ , “No, don’t do that!” It’s also pretty common for mates to get a symbol representing their loved one(s) carved into their protoforms.

The  _biggest_  displays tend to be in the Creative caste, where mechs get  _stupid_  trying to show their love sometimes. Professional racers are included in this caste, so you can imagine how many of these involve  _intentionally crashing to show your love_. Sometimes, if a mech hears that a fellow racer has had someone initiate Conjunx Ritus, they drop out of the soonest race because they are not going to be on the track for that bullshit. Not that it’s really that much less dangerous for actors/painters/etc.

But there is a matter of debate on whether mechs should be allowed to chose what Act of Devotion they undertake for themselves or if their Act has to be chosen by their potential conjunx. Some mechs will flat-out refuse to acknowledge a conjunx relationship if the Act of Devotion wasn’t chosen by the initiator, even if the relationship is legally acknowledged.

Right. So. Greenlight was actually the one to initiate Conjunx Ritus with Lancer, even though she usually tries to wait for Lancer to make the first move on a lot of things. Lancer, conscious of common attitudes about who is supposed to choose the Act of Devotion, asked Greenlight what she had to do. Greenlight, not caring what others thought as long as she could be with Lancer, kind of laughed and joked, “Wrestle an alloygator for all I care.”

And that’s the story of how Dash Over bought a pelt in Nova Cronum.


	7. Cybertronian Government

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **AKA “Why the fuck does the Council view Greenlight and Lancer as such big threats? Here’s why…”**

**Originally posted March 22, 2016 at 3 PM**

Some of this I think I’ve made clear, but enough of it hasn’t been stated clearly/directly that I think it bears explanation.

At the top of Cybertronian society, you have the Noble and Ruling castes. These are the only castes that have sub-rankings within them (though other castes will have divisions, just not  _ranked_  ones). In descending order of power, it basically goes Prime-->Cybertronian High Council (often shortened to “The Council”)-->King/Queen/Chancellor/acknowledged authority of a given city-state-->Duke/Duchess-->Marquis/Marchioness-->Earl/Countess-->Viscount/ess-->Baron/ess-->Elite Guard. The Cybertronian equivalents would be gender-neutral, and some city-states would skip directly from acknowledged authority to Elite Guard, but I’ll get to the latter in a moment.

The Prime is the ultimate power of the entire planet, believed appointed by the Will of Primus. They can enforce laws on every city-state, and when encountering alien governments, the Prime decides how to engage with them. The only time a Prime’s power is shared is 1) if they are a puppet appointed by the Council or 2) they have a bondmate. Important note: the distinction between a conjunx endura and a bondmate is vital; a conjunx is a powerless companion except in a medical emergency, while a bondmate is acknowledged as an extension of oneself.

The Council has slightly less power, making decisions for the entire planet only as not contradicted by the Prime, when the planet is between Primes, or when an indisposed Prime does not have a conjunx or bondmate to rule in their place. New Primes are usually chosen from amongst the Council. Council positions are not hereditary, however, so when one member is lost, their replacement is chosen from city-state rulers, usually those who are already loyal to the Council and have a replacement of their own lined up.

Each individual city-state has their own political system, though, and here’s where things get a little complicated.

Uraya and Vos, for example, are two of the only remaining monarchies. This is why social maneuvering can get really complicated, because the ranked peerage still holds power over specific divisions of their city-states, and deciding the right to rule if the next monarch dies without leaving an heir (whether sparked or commissioned) is valuable. The difference between Vos and Uraya, however, is that the authority of the Council goes unquestioned in Uraya, but Vos experiences strong political tension over whether the Council should have authority or not.

Some places, like Kaon, are corporatocracies. Ibex, despite its reputation as a laid-back polity, is actually a dictatorship. Elite Guardsmech end up just below the dictator in Ibex’s chain of power simply by virtue of no other powers existing.

Praxus and Nova Cronum, however, exist somewhere between  oligarchy and democracy. Both have elected rulers, but these rulers are chosen among a group of political elite. Here, there isn’t so much of a ranked peerage as there is a nebulous mix of mechs of vacillating political influence. Elite Guardsmechs are still generally perceived as being somewhere towards the bottom of the group, but a significant enough action on the part of an Elite Guardsmech’s part has the potential to win over public approval, giving them more sway come election time.

Why is this a big deal? Well, as [Perceptor tells Moonracer](http://archiveofourown.org/works/4365098/chapters/11459545):

> Nobles and rulers may bond and join as conjuges freely, and there is a fluidity of rank between the two castes. Even an Elite Guardsmech may rise to the stature of King. 

And, because of the way new Primes and Council members are chosen, that means that an Elite Guardsmech who plays their cards right could rise to the top.

Now, I’m going to go ahead and say there’s more to the “caste recategorization” racket than has been revealed so far. But ignoring that--pretending that letting a select few mechs change caste is just that with no ulterior motives--I think it’s pretty obvious that the ruling elite did not expect someone like Lancer to get the step up the ladder that she got. Her relationship with Greenlight is all the more threatening to them with this context in mind.

**Bonus:**  While the implications here were totally accidental on my part, I think it’s fun/interesting to take the information above and apply it to this little moment from  _[Nameless Grace](http://archiveofourown.org/works/6102918)_ :

> [T]hey could find out the next sol that Lancer was the reincarnation of Solus Prime and Greenlight wouldn’t be surprised


	8. The Cybertronian Zodiac part 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drag Strip's pronoun was changed from "he" to "she" here because, at some point, "Using the pronouns a character uses in canon," became, "Using the pronouns a character has used in at least one canon." I decided that the Drag Strip in this fic-'verse would use "she" like her TFA counterpart.

**Originally posted October 2, 2016 at 11 AM**

You know how human zodiacs often associate signs with personality traits? That’s what these two rambles are about. This first part mainly deals with cultural notes and an overview of attitudes. The second deals with the specifics of what traits are associated with each sign.

Of course, the upper castes put more stock in astrology than the lower castes. The upper castes have been using religion and mysticism as justifications for their status for vorns, so even with the more modern understandings of science, nobility and royalty love to keep track of emergence dates. It doesn’t hurt that, as discussed previously, the lower castes don’t have much say in when new members of their caste are created—unless they’re high enough up on the ladder to say, “Hey, I’m dying soon, so I would like to request an apprentice.” Because the upper castes have more freedom of and control over others’ creation, they can use the alignment of the stars as an excuse for commissioning sparks during specific orbital-cycles and denying requests for creation at others.

You would think the Intellectual caste would reject this frame of mind, whether because most of them have no direct influence over others’ creation or because of the strong presence of scientists within this caste. And for the most part, they  _are_  less likely to accept astrology at face value. However, there are a subset of Intellectual mechs who argue that, because the spark-as-determiner-of-personality idea is established fact, perhaps there are undocumented but measurable conditional shifts over the orbital-cycles that could produce patterns in the personality types of released sparks. (No one, as of yet, has actually been able to conduct research on this hypothesis.)

It’s highly debated in Cybertronian society if mechs created by spark-merge are as strongly associated with their sign as those released from Vector Sigma! Some argue that a spark is a spark, no matter how it came to be united with a frame, so of course sparked mechs are as strongly tied to their signs as protoformed and constructed mechs are. Others say that which sparks are released from Vector Sigma at a given time are the will of Primus, while sparklings are 1) created by the will of mere mortals, 2) unpredictable as to whether they will detach at the expected time or not, and 3) simply a mixing of their creators’ traits, so an interpretation based on the signs of their creators is more accurate. Still others toss their servos in the air and declare that it’s all hogwash anyway, and that if you bring the will of Primus into it, why couldn’t Primus just influence when a set of creators are able to successfully kindle a spark or when the newspark separates anyway?

Among those who accept sparked mechs as having a strong tie to their sign, which orbital-cycle in the development matters most? When the spark was kindled? When the Carrier felt the first flutters? When the newspark separated from the host spark? And, in the case of premature emergence, is the actual separation date or the expected separation date more important?

Another matter of debate is how many of the associated traits are expected to be present. Surely not all mechs will inherit every positive and negative trait associated with their sign, but is there a limit on the virtues and faults a mech can get? Is it possible for a mech to be all faults or all virtues (at least as far as sign influence goes)? Adding fuel to the flames is the fact that some signs are stereotyped more negatively or positively than others, and some don’t feel comfortable condemning a mech because they were created in a “bad” orbital-cycle.

(See also the conversation in chapter 2 of  _For All That Has Happened_. Essentially, it can be boiled down to something like this:  
“Oh, your sparkling separated under the sign of Shokoract? I can see the positive traits associated with that sign in her!”  
“But it’s also the sign stereotyped most negatively, and I’m totally holding that against you.”  
“She separated prematurely, though. She was supposed to have The One as her sign, which is generally one of the most positively-viewed signs. So fuck off.”)

Mechs lower in caste are more likely to be presumed to have the negative traits of their sign. Even mechs fairly low in the system will be created at a time seen as fortuitous or beneficial for the caste they’re intended for. Mechs in the middle castes may also “earn” association with positive or negative traits of their sign based on how successful they are. The famous racer Drag Strip is often praised as the rare example of a “good” Shokoract mech just because she’s that popular on the track.

However, sometimes negative attitudes can spawn from the sign a mech  _doesn’t_  have, rather than the traits associated with their sign. The Intellectual caste–particularly the scientific community–is  _strongly_ biased against mechs created outside Heptaneon (the sign of The Golden Disk), although this bias largely goes unacknowledged. Mechs created in other orbital-cycles have to work several times harder for even a fraction of the recognition their Heptaneon-created peers receive. On the rare occasion they  _are_  rewarded for their work, their achievements are usually forgotten almost immediately after!

Of course, while I’ve focused a lot on the downsides of Cybertronian astrology here, not everyone who buys into or exploits it is automatically bad! A lot of mechs just find it fun or silly to contemplate the signs (and other features of the Cybertronian night sky), and some lower caste mechs use readings and parodies of readings to release steam or even supplement their resources. It’s just a shame that it’s also been used to uphold toxic societal constructs.


	9. The Cybertronian Zodiac part 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> See if you can spot all the jokes in this one

**Originally posted October 2, 2016 at 12 PM**

In part 1, I provided an overall view of cultural attitudes about the Cybertronian zodiac in my fic-‘verse. Here, I’ll get into the specifics for each sign, as well as examples of characters who were created under each sign (in this ‘verse). The sign/aspect/orbital-cycle sets come from TFA’s continuity, but the personality traits and notes are my own interpretation.

**Xal/Trickery/Ferruneon**

This sign is associated with cunning, illusions, misdirection, and good humor. Mechs created in Ferruneon are seen as outgoing, amiable, and quick-witted. They may play jokes on others, but they will often try to let others in on the joke as well. They may make great performers because their talent with illusions make for exciting shows. On the reverse side, however, they can also be manipulative and malicious. A Xal mechs trickery can be fun as long as tempered by knowing the time and place for tricks, but they’re generally untrustworthy on serious matters.

Mechs with this sign include Swindle, Sideswipe, Sunstreaker, Jazz, Rumble, Frenzy, Smokescreen, and Mirage.

**Chronarchitect/Time/Navitaneon**

Perhaps the most difficult sign to decipher, Chronarchitect can be associated with punctuality and tardiness, diligence and laziness, efficiency and inefficiency, and other such opposites. Most mechs tend to assume one of the extremes (hardworking, quick, effective) or the other (slack, slow, sloppy). Chronarchitect also lends itself to the “brilliant but lazy” type, especially where it manifests as someone who procrastinates until the last minute but has the skill to pull out a perfect product on time every time. Musically-inclined mechs may find their home here, as a good grasp of time is vital for composing, playing, and dancing. Racers excel here if the sign lends them its speed.

Mechs created in Navitaneon include Greenlight, Rosanna, Thunderblast, Sky-Byte, Blurr (the blue one), and Heinrad.

**The Void/Hunger/Primaneon**

The Void represents ambition, will-power, and absolute dedication, but it can also sometimes mean detachment and emptiness. Detachment  _from_  what and emptiness  _of_  what may depend on the mech, however. It could be detachment from reality or detachment from burdens and restraints. The danger of this sign is soaring uncontrolled and unchecked toward one’s own doom, but the glory in the sign is breaking free from limits meant to crush and enslave. Emptiness gives somewhere to put new experiences and skills, and mechs of this sign have the drive to fill that space and keep going. While many of these traits are great for business and political leaders, they can also be the traits of blood-thirsty murderers and despots.

Despite frequent jokes at his expense, this is  _not_  Dead End’s sign. It  _is_ the sign of Megatron(us), Starscream, Blurr (the purple one), Motormaster, Sureshot, Deluge (the one who’s not a scientist), and Cliffjumper.

**Shokaract/The Hunter/Inrituneon**

If you’re fast and have both a keen eye and the endurance to tread all the way around Cybertron without stopping, you’re probably a mech of Shokaract. While Shokaract mechs often lack the sheer strength of The Void, they make up for it by being skilled and speedy. Unfortunately, they’re often seen as underhanded, temperamental, and quicker to violence than any other sign. The hunger of The Void can be filled constructively, but Shokaract is a hunter, and mechs created in Inrituneon are constantly poised to strike. A brilliant trait to have if you’re after game or tracking criminals, but horrible for anyone else if you’re the criminal. Because of both the excellent aim and propensity for violence associated with this sign, most warbuilds are commissioned during Inrituneon.

Shokaract is the sign of Moonracer, Drag Strip, Thundercracker, Skywarp, Powerglide, Drift, Blitzwing, Roulette, and Shadow Striker.

**The One/Unity/Chokoneon**

Mechs with The One as their sign are kind-sparked, generous, and make great mediators. They are orderly and organized, and they believe in fair play and that rules should be made to ensure fair play. Mechs created in Chokoneon make great ambassadors and couple’s counselors because they naturally encourage communication between groups and arrange peaceful resolutions. But mechs of this sign can also be seen as stiff, conformist, and resistant to change, which can prove a challenge when flexibility is the only way to achieve the peace they desire.

Among those with The One as their sign are Bluestreak, Optimus Prime (Orion Pax), Breakdown, Flatline, Karmen, and Prowl.

**Serpent O.R./Combination/Zetcaneon**

While The One is the sign of uniting parties outside oneself, Serpent O.R. is the sign of adapting to work well as part of a team. Also, while mechs created in Chokoneon are inclined to learn  _about_  others, mechs created in Zetcaneon are inclined to learn  _from_  others, taking others skills and opinions and stirring them into one’s own range and thought patterns. The flexibility provided by their sign means that Serpent O.R. mechs are willing to synthesize new, better methods from the scraps of less effective ones. Construction teams have some of the least predictable creation times, but a construction team that happened to be commissioned under this sign would have to be pretty extraordinary at their jobs.

Mechs created in Zetcaneon include the Constructicons and Omega Supreme.

**Yggdrasill/Growth/Boltaneon**

Yggdrasill is the sign of flexibility and change. Mechs created this time are expected to adapt easily to new environments and learn quickly and easily from new experiences. Yggdrasill is also associated with life, healing, and vibrancy, making this a great sign for medics. The aspect of Growth also bodes well for anyone handling mineral gardens or studies of Cybertronian ecology. This is also a sign for the vivacious and personable, as the natural flexibility lends itself well to finding the fun in any situation and in shifting to make others comfortable. However, the mercurial nature of these mechs can also make them unpredictable or wildly inconsistent both in personal and professional affairs.

Mechs who share Yggdrasill as their sign are Hound, Brushguard, Knock Out, Ratchet, Velocity, Glit, Wildrider, Blaster, and Bluster.

**The Key to Vector Sigma/Secrets/Rokuneon**

Unlike Xal, the Key to Vector Sigma is associated with guarded information and “things better left unknown” rather than outright deception. This is the sign of tradition, ancient knowledge, and the wisdom of leaders, passed down through the generations to those proven worthy. The Key to Vector Sigma is often associated with protection and preservation, whether of tradition and the philosophical well-being of Cybertron or the physical safety of the planet and its population. Mechs born in Rokuneon are seen as wise, just, loyal, and honorable. This is usually seen as the sign of nobility and royalty, but some old tales tell of low-born mechs’ destined greatness being foretold by their creation in this orbital-cycle. It takes sound judgement to reveal the right secrets and leave the right secrets hidden. On the negative side, this sign’s fascination with “things better left unknown” can lead them to delve too deep and uncover information/ideas they never should have.

Alpha Trion is the most famous bearer of this sign, but it’s shared with the likes of Lancer, Soundwave, Toaster, Dreadwing, Skyquake, Dead End, Elita One (Ariel), Flamewar, and Blackout, as well as a number of Primes. Hm.

**The Golden Disk/Wisdom/Heptaneon**

Genius is alive in the orbital cycle of Heptaneon. The Golden Disk is associated with intelligence, dedication, and insight. Mechs created during its orbital-cycle have sharp processors and are constantly working to build a better, stronger future. Their understanding of how the universe works may give them a great understanding of how individual Cybertronians work and/or enable them to make remarkably accurate predictions of major upcoming events, though it can just as easily blind them to interpersonal matters and dull their social senses. Generally, this is seen as meaning “unpleasant to interact with” at worst, and the Golden Disk is seen as the most positive sign overall. That said, there is a very small, oft-ignored group who warn that too much focus on the information-seeking quality of the sign could lead a mech to horrifying means…

It should come as no surprise that this is the sign of Perceptor, Brainstorm, Shockwave, Wheeljack, Deluge (the scientist), Jhiaxus, Glyph, Quark, Jetfire…Basically any well-respected scientist you can think of!

**Aquarius/Peace/Bahneon**

Aquarius is the sign of peace and trust. Mechs with this sign tend to be easy-going, gentle, sensitive, and idealistic. While they value others, they are often independent and dedicated to freedom, believing that needs can be highly individual and impossible/difficult to provide systematically. Their belief in openness and contempt for delusion can put them at odds with mechs of Xal, but as both signs are closely tied with creativity, they may also make great artistic teams. Mechs created in Bahneon tend to believe that peace will guide the planets and love will steer the stars to an age of transcendence. Ironically, despite disliking delusion, Aquarius mechs are often stereotyped as lazy, delusional slobs. Aquarius is sometimes seen as the other extreme of the Void: while the latter is too driven and destructive, the former lacks initiative and is too powerless/hopeless.

Aquarius is the sign of Beachcomber, First Aid, and Groove.


	10. Miscellaneous Notes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A collection of comments too short to post on their own

**Originally posted July 18, 2015 at 5 PM**

**Writing nobles:**  Dialogue with carefully chosen wording that still has fairly obvious intended meaning

**Writing Perceptor:**  Carefully chosen wording that sometimes has an obvious other meaning and other times needs more thought

**Writing Dead End:**  Every fucking word has to be looked up, even ones I use fairly regularly, to make sure every goddamn choice is as perfect as fucking possible because this shit needs to be subversive as hell while still believably flying over the Council's heads

I mean I love writing this but geez

**Originally posted July 18, 2015 at 6 PM**

As frustrating as it is, I’m actually having fun writing what’s supposed to be one of Dead End’s philosophical essays. On the exact wording front, we have him switching from describing early Cybertronian society as “paradise” to calling it a “utopia.” On tying things in with other parts of the series, a quote from this particular essay was already written into  _For All That Has Happened_  as being the point Moonracer decided that Dead End’s writing was just too depressing for her.

The quote appears in the third paragraph of the essay.

Oh, and I’m titling this multichapter  _Tenets of the Dusk’s Lucidity_ , which makes me giggle.

**Originally posted July 25, 2015 at 8 PM**

This is something I already discussed with my sister, but I want to put this here as well.

Age is already something pretty weird to talk about with sentient robots who are sometimes expected to think and fight like adults right after being created. Mostly, we just get an idea of how “old” a character is from how they act or what Cybertronian history they remember.

I think it actually gets weirder in my fics’ universe with the three different types of creation and their different upgrade rates. Like, chronologically, Moonracer and Swindle should be the same age. However, because of differing upgrade rates, Moonracer essentially turned (the Cybertronian equivalent of) 13 during chapter 8 of her story while Swindle would already be 18 or thereabouts. Upgrade-wise, Skywarp and Thundercracker would be about the same age as Moonracer or a little older, but chronologically, they were created after Moonracer. Blitzwing would have been the last built of all of them, but he would be older than even Swindle.

…Fiction is weird, and I’m the one writing this series.

**Originally posted September 29, 2015 at 11 PM**

_Transformers: To Destroy_  is seriously such a long (and long-term) fic project that I know parts of the series that are going to be  _way_  down the line. I’m so tempted to use the line, “Careful there. You might fall in love with her, just like everyone else,” in a multichapter that’s probably not going to be written until I get into the Earth years…And even then, whether I use the line or not is going to depend on how readers react to the dynamic between these other characters.

**Originally posted October 7, 2015 at 12 AM**

“Tru, what do you get out of writing  _Tenets of the Dusk’s Lucidity_?”

I get to write about the potential heat death of the universe. *thumbs up*

**Originally posted October 12, 2015 at 10 PM**

In the last chapter of  _Impasse_ , I wrote that Perceptor “wasn’t built for fighting,” and now I have “Do It for Her/Him” stuck in my head.

~~Also, you may now imagine that Percy’s office has one of those Do It For Her posters with pictures of Moonracer after chapter 5. Because yeah.~~

**Originally posted October 12, 2015 at 11 PM**

I’m seriously crying about how Perceptor and Moonracer propel each other’s development  _in my own fic -verse_. Like, I’m not even crying about canon; I’m crying about fic  _I’m_  writing. That’s how much care I put into this ‘verse.

**Originally posted October 19, 2015 at 11 PM**

…With the pre-war backstories I have set for the Stunticons, it makes perfect sense that most of them haven’t met each other yet in the T:TD timeline. With the backstories I have for Motormaster and Dead End, it makes zero sense that the two of them, specifically, haven’t met each other yet.

**Reblogged from self October 20, 2015 at 10 PM**

I’m a little frustrated with myself, really. It’s like…Breakdown lives in [spoiler], but Drag Strip lives in [spoiler], while Wildrider lives out in [spoiler]. Then, Dead End lives in Nova Cronum, while Motormaster lives far away in [spoiler]. With that in mind, it’s perfectly reasonable that they wouldn’t have met each other because of the distance and such.

But Dead End and Motormaster both [spoilerspoilerspoilerspoiler], so you would think they’ve at least crossed paths once or twice, you know?

**Originally posted October 30, 2015 at 5 PM**

Sometimes, I wish  _Transformers: To Destroy_  was a more popular fic-‘verse just so I could post something cryptic like, “Ask Motormaster about the  Manganese Mountains,” and watch people flip their shit trying to figure out what I mean.

**Originally posted February 15, 2016 at 12 AM**

One other thing about the fic ‘verse before I force myself to go to sleep…

When I say that Lancer is the tall girlfriend, I’m not sure everyone grasps how tall I mean because the description of her in Impasse is that she feels “a little large even for an NMR spectrometer,” and, well, if you just image search “NMR spectrometer,” some of them are actually pretty small.

What you have to keep in mind is that the specific NMR spectrometer I had in mind is this one:

[[Here there was a photo of a man standing on an NMR spectrometer about three times his height](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f9/HWB-NMR_-_900MHz_-_21.2_Tesla.jpg).]

Now maybe it makes more sense why Lancer had back pain when she worked in the labs.

**Originally posted December 5, 2016 at 11 PM**

Rereading my own work can be wild. I’m about 97% sure that the medic referred to as Aide in the current version of the first chapter of  _For All That Has Happened_  is meant to be [Firster Aid](https://t.umblr.com/redirect?z=http%3A%2F%2Ftfwiki.net%2Fwiki%2FFirster_Aid&t=Mjk1ZDU4N2IwYWEzMDQ3ZTY3Njc2Y2E3MmYwMTIwZmNlNTYxOTdlYSxMaXU2VTk1eQ%3D%3D&b=t%3AHqz5I3IXHXBnJ1p9oe4wJw&p=http%3A%2F%2Ftrinesrus.tumblr.com%2Fpost%2F154106165858%2Frereading-my-own-work-can-be-wild-im-about-97&m=1) but not called that in order to not confuse the reader while still allowing myself an in-joke because that is 100% the kind of thing I would do.

And if that was my intent, past me, it worked! I laughed my ass off!

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> "I get to write about the potential heat death of the universe," is such a mood holy shit


End file.
